11 Manufacturers Represented in German 24 Hour Race - 5 MZs, 3 BMWs, 1 MCN Journalist...

The provisional entry list for next weekend's 24 Stunden von Oschersleben round of the FIM World Endurance Championship contains a number of interesting additions to the permanent teams who compete in all rounds of the championship.

Bikes from Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Ducati, Aprilia and MV Agusta have already competed in the championship this year. They will be joined at Oschersleben by machines from BMW (K1200S, K1200R, KB35), KTM (Super Duke), Triumph (955i Daytona) and most notably MZ, with five examples of the MZ1000S entered by three local teams.

The three BMWs represent both models of the new inline four cylinder 1200 as well as a prototype R1200GS engined R1100S special, the KB35. The BMW K1200R will be co-ridden by UK bike weekly Motorcycle News road tester Trevor Franklin.

This will be the second year that KTM have entered one of their big v-twins, and the Triumph Daytona is an Oschersleben 24 hours regular.

The Aprilia RSV1000 of Motociclismo Test Team will be joined by a German entered Aprilia Tuono; it will be interesting to see which bike is more suited to the Oschersleben circuit's compact and twisty nature.

Perhaps the most significant additions to the entry list are the five examples of MZ's 1000DS. The bike made its track debut here last year and finished the tough race with honours, so it's no surprise to see more examples entered this year.

Although the championship is being fought out between the big four Japanese manufacturers (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda are all represented in the top five at the moment) these entries will bring another dimension to the Oschersleben race and to the World Endurance Championship.

The 24 Stunden von Oschersleben takes place on the 13th and 14th of August.

5th August 2005